LFT Compound Replaces Aluminum In Award-Winning Table

Spain’s Resol, a leading global manufacturer of plastic furniture for outdoor, office and residential use has replaced the aluminum legs on its Vela table with an OnForce LFT (long-fiber thermoplastic) compound from PolyOne, helping the company to win two 2014 international awards in recognition of its inventive design and use of engineered thermoplastics.

According to a PolyOne spokesman, Resol had begun its switch from metal to plastic with a different LFT supplier, but was disappointed: Resol found that it needed to paint the injection molded parts multiple times to achieve the required surface finish, adding to the cost and posing logistical problems. Albert Vilagran, director of production at Plasfur, the captive manufacturing arm of Resol, contacted PolyOne to develop a formulation that met the requirements for mechanical performance, processability and surface finish.

The resulting PP-based formulation, reinforced with long-glass fiber increased Resol’s design options, lowered overall weight, and reduced manufacturing complexity. Moreover, excellent aesthetics were achieved with molded-in color, eliminating the cost and hassles of painting. “Even for high-end furniture such as ours, the market is very competitive, so we always strive for optimum production efficiency. PolyOne provided outstanding support to help us reach our goals for innovative design and highly efficient manufacturing,” says Vilagran. 

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